Spiral separator.



F. PARDEE.

SPIRAL SBPARATOR.

. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA PR.11,1910. 977,037. I I Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

2 SHBETS-SHEBT 1.

P. PARDEE. SPIRAL SEPARATOR.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK PARDEE, OF HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA, 'ASSIGNOR IO ANTHRACITESEPABATOR COMPANY, A GORP01M!;"]IIO1\T 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

SPIRAL 'SEPARA'IOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

Application filed April 11, 1910. Serial No. 554,874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK PARDEE, a citizen of the United States,residing in Hazleton, county of Luzerne, and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Spiral Separators, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

The invention relates to that class of separator-s which are shown anddescribed in the series of patents issued to me on July 25th, 1899, ascombinedly utilizing gravity, friction and centrifugal force, fordifferentially acting on and sorting the mixed materials while passingalong the spiral :runways, or floor of the machine.

The speed of a body acted on solely by gravity, is accelerated at adefinite rate during each second of the time of descent; but the forceof gravity is nearly always resisted by other forces, tending to changethe direction of movement or bring the descending body to rest. /Vhenacting upon a sliding body, or one which moves on an inclined plane,gravity has to contend with the result of friction, or frictionalresistance. The friction, other things being equal, is proportionate tothe weight of the moving body, and is greater when the body commences tomove than after it has been movand this force develops and increases inproportion to the square of the speed, other things being equal; andsmooth light mate rials having less frlctlon than rough heavler ones,come more readily under its power.

The principal mechanical features of the separators made under myearlier patents were the downward pitch for permitting gravity to act;the inward pitch, or outward and upward flare, to increase thefrictional resistance of the heavier materials tending to move outwardlyby a develop ment of too much centrifugal force; and ridges or irregularretarding surfaces intended as additional guards against an outwardmovement of materials which should remain near the center. The coalbeing light and smooth, as compared with slate and bone, moved with morespeed and was carried by the centrifugal force outside of the othermaterials, the spiral being pro vided with a peripheral retainingflange.

The fundamental ideas embodied in such machines were on right lines, sofar as they went, and the machines produced fairly good result-s, butdid not act with the great est possible practical certainty orefliciency.

In the practical construction and operation of spiral separators, thedifferential and modified action of the forces, their equilibrium, andpotency or dominance as respects the substances acted upon, thestructural features and condition of the plates of the spiral, theinherent properties and condition of the materials, together with theirsimple, resultant and reflected motions, actions and reactions, are, insome measure, to be anticipated, and should be suitably provided for, orguarded against, in one way or another or in several ways.

The object of the present invention is to construct a spiral which willpossess the advantages of the machines heretofore made and otheradvantages.

The invention consists of a spiral separator having plate or jacketelements with varied degrees of inward inclination on radial lines, andretarders adapted to slow up and change the course of the contactualheavier materials, as hereinafter more fully described and pointed out,or indicated, in and by the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1, is an elevation of a part of the central orsupporting post and shows some of the slate jackets at the upper end ortop of the spiral. Fig. 2 is a plan View of eight jackets or plateelements completing one circle or turn going down from the top of thepost. Fig. 3 is a plan View showing eight plate elements completing thesecond circle or turn, and Fig. 4: a plan view of the third turn ofeight plates.

The drawings illustrate a spiral slatethread having several forms ofplate elements encircling a central post A, provided with supportingrods a, for receiving screws or .bolts a which also pass through theplates or jacket B, and secure them.

The mixed materials come down chutes in a coal breaker, and during thetransit acquire speed or velocity before reaching the separator, but, asthe breaker chutes are usually strai ht, there is no development ofcentrifugal orce until after the materials enter the spiral. Theoriginal speed of the materials is checked. to increase the frictionalresistance and give them a proper turn at the time of entering thespiral. The machine is usually fed by suitableattachments connected withthe breaker supply chutes and with the upper or top plate. The speed ofthe entering materials may be checked by regulating the pitch of thefeed-attachments or in other ways; but the slate-thread illustrated bythe drawings, assumes no special form of feed-apparatus, and is such asto receive the materials well out on the top plate B, which with thenext plate below it, is shown as having an outside flange b. 7 Theillustration given is that of a slatethread, for stove size ofmaterials, composed of twenty-four plates having a downward pitch or droof twenty-four inches in one turn or circ e of eight plates around thecentral post. The top plate and the next or. second plate each measureeighteen inches out from the post along the supporting rod a, and thesecond plate is provided with one retarder C, located on the bonerunway. The retarder C may be of any shape or conformation, but ispreferably of the form shown, which has a curved or partly curved outercontour 0, adapted to exert an edge-friction on the heavier materialscoming in contact with it. These retarders may also have a divider end 0and an inner edge contour 0 preferably straight. The single retarder C,Fig. 2, on the second plate of the spiral distributes contactualmaterials so that they spread on the plate, but at this point some ofthe coal may be on the inside of slate and bone, and slate and bone maybe outside of some of the coal.

The plates or jackets third to the tenth, counting from the top, measuretwenty-two inches on the su porting rods, and make oneturn, of thatwldth, around the post. This greater width ermits the materials toscatter and get wel under the influence of the operating forces, so thatthe pieces of coal which are not impeded will quickly developcentrifugal force and be carried over the periphery to a coal-thread,not shown.

The first and second of these twenty-two inch jackets, that is the thirdand fourth plates of the spiral, have a graduated or varied outwardfiare,'or inward pitch on radial lines, the variations being produced bya plane surface D, bounded by helical and elliptical curves d, alstartin .on the third. plate and terminating on the ourth of the spiral,the greatest divergence between the curves being overthe supporting rod(1,

'to which both plates are secured. The 1nner or helical curve d isusually struck from the face or upper side of the plate and forms.acrease, while the elliptical curve al is struck from the under side ofthe plate and presents a slight ridge on the face of the plate, adjacentto the warped coal surface (Z which extends outward to the periphery.The fifth and sixth plates of the spiral have a similar plane surface D,bounded by helical and elliptical curves d, 03 and these plates eachhave an inserted or inlay piece B of steel, which has or forms a planeor partly plane surface on the plate, not far from the central post.

The'seventh and eighth plates of the spiral have like helical andelliptical curves, plane surface D, and a plane, or artl Y planesurface, on an inlay piece B 0 steel, also near the axis.

The third plate of the spiral and each of the others down to andincluding the eighth, have a single retarder C, as shown in Fig. 2.

The ninth and tenth plates shown in Fig. 3, which are the last two ofthe series or turn of twenty-two inch plates have outer and innerhelical and elliptical curves d, al which bound included plane surfacesD, but these plates have no retarders, nor retarding surfaces other thanthose caused by the flare, by the plane and warped surfaces, and by thecreases or ridges produced in forming the helical and elliptical curves,as stated.

The fourteen plates forming the remainder of the spiral, as shown byFigs. 3, and 4, measure twenty inches on the supporting rods. They allhave a varied incline toward the axis caused by plane and warpedsurfaces on the jackets or on inlay pieces B, of different materials.Plates eleven to thirteen inclusive, may have an inlay piece B of bronzeand one of steel; plates fourteen and fifteen may each have one inlaypiece 13, of steel, and plate sixteen one inlay piece B of bronze;plates seventeen to nineteen inclusive' may each have one inlay piece ofbronze and one of steel; plate twenty may have one inlay piece of steel,and plates twenty-one to twenty-four inclusive, may each have one inlaypiece of bronze. These twenty inch plates may also have one or moreretarders. Commencing at the eleventh and continuing to include thefourteenth, one retarder C, is shown on each plate; plate fifteen mayhave two retarders, plate sixteen, one retarder; plate seventeen, two;plate eighteen, one; plate nineteen, two, and plates twenty totwenty-two inclusive, may each have one retarder while the twentythirdand twenty-fourth have none.

The plane and warped surfaces by which the inward pitch or flare of theplates is.

graduated, modified, or changed, materially aid in keeping control overthe speed of the slate and bone, and gradually act to divert them from atangential to a helical or inward course. But the conditions vary bothas to the plates, or jackets, and as to the materials to be separated.The plates when much used may become smooth; and plates little used orwhich remain idle for a time may rust; the materials may be dry or theymay be wet. Changed, condition is one of the causes for erraticmovements of slate and bone, which the retarders on the plates aid incorrecting, without interfering with the proper movements and speed ofthe coal.

It is desirable that some of the retarders C, be located near the outerline of the bone runway, especially on the plates which do not havehelical and elliptical curves. One retarder thus located on a plate willperform good service. The retarders act on contactual slate or bone toslow up such pieces, and the retardation changes their course underconditions with which other features of the plate elements may not besuited to cope.

Slate or bone having a strong tangential impetus, on coming in contactwith a retarder will be given a reflected motion which turns ithelically or inwardly, and gravity will then dominate. When the opposingforces are in equilibrium as respects any of the materials, they willpursue a helical course downward and keep to that course so long as theequilibrium continues to be fairly stable. The varied inclination orflare of the plates and the retarders, affect the slate and bone quitedifferently, under all conditions, from the actions observed in usingthe older, or earlier, forms of spiral.

The coal being dominated by centrifugal force, is drawn away from theheavier materials and passes, from different parts of the periphery, tothe coal-thread before the run on the slate-thread is completed. Thecoal finally goes from the spiral to a pocket and is afterward drawn offinto cars and inspected for the market.

The slate-thread shown and described, is one form in which the combinedfeatures of the plate elements and retarders, may be utilized in dealingwith different kinds of materials or with the same kind under a changedcondition. The elements, or the spiral as a whole, may be modified andyet have the advantages resulting from the combination of new orimproved features with older ones entering into the structure. Asalready indicated there are certain physical laws in obedience to whichthe operative forces act on the materials. The spiral is designed togive to each operative force its due measure of power and a control ofcertain materials within given helical limits, along with greaterdifferential certainty which may be ascribed to the means employed forcorrecting erratic movements. The structure as described is an exampleof what I regard as the best mode of applying the principle of themachine, though not as the only mode.

I do not herein separately claim plates or jackets having a graduatedinward inclination. on radial lines, with inlay or renewable parts; norplate elements having plane and warped surfaces and. helical andelliptical creases; nor plate elements having any particular arrangementof retarders; nor retarders adapted to exert edge-friction on thecontactual heavier materials. These several subjects-matter are moredefinitely embraced in four other and separate applications executed byme on even date herewith, and respectively filed herewith as Serial Nos.554,870; 554,871; 554,872; 554,873; to which several applicationsreference is hereby made for greater certainty as to their respectivesubjects-matter.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A spiral separator having plate elements graduated with varieddegrees of axial inclination along radial lines, whereby the generalinclination is changed and runways are formed for materials differing inspecific gravity and frictional resistance, said spiral being alsoprovided with retarders adapted to slow up and change the course ofcontactual heavier materials.

2. A spiral separator having plate elements graduated with varieddegrees of axial inclination along radial lines whereby the generalinclination is changed, said elements having plane and warped surfacesand being also provided with retarders, whereby the varied surfaces andretarders form runways adapted for differential action on differentmaterials.

3. A spiral separator having plate elements graduated with varieddegrees of axial inclination along radial lines whereby the generalinclination is changed, said elements having plane and warped surfaces,said elements being provided with retarding surfaces having creasedcurved perimeters by which the heavier materials may be retarded andguided helically and inwardly.

4-. A spiral separator having plate elements on some of which thegeneral inclination is changed by plane and warped runway surfaces,other plate elements of said spiral being provided with retardingsurfaces disposed at intervals and approximately defining the runwaysfor the different materials.

FRANK PARDEE.

Witnesses:

ANNA W. WETTERAU, LILLIAN SAUNDERS.

